[CowBella]

Hello, new to the list, new to my EB pup, but not new to bully breeds =)

3 questions here... 1) my girl Bella's eyes seem a bit 'splayed' kind of turned out from one another. I have heard opposing opinions on the matter of them eventually getting in the correct position, one, absolutely not, what you see is what you get, and other opinions being that since her cartilage is still soft while teething, it is causing her splayed feet and eyes. Now.. I'm no dummy, but I don't think that soft cartilage has anything to do with her eyes, so my assumption is that, yes, her eyes will always be a bit off. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

2) RC Bulldog 24.... I have not purchased this yet, because I am not 100% happy with the ingredients. I feed DVP Duck and Potato to my Giant Schnauzer, (was feeding her raw at her breeders recommendation, but with that beard... ewwwww germies!) Her stool is a bit soft, but no gas, and she is very healthy. So the question is... Can someone give me the rundown of why this food, that has brown rice as the main ingredient, is THE best food for my EB pup? Also, is RC Bulldog 24 satisfactory for the puppy stage of growth? DVP has no puppy food, they (he?) feels that it is complete enough for every stage of life, just adjust amount fed.

3) Does any EB owners feed or supplement with Raw? My Giant gets chicken backs/wings to help keep her teeth pearly white once or twice a week. (the days she gets raw, her stools go from soft-ish and tan to hard and very dark)

Any imput is appreciated =))


Tina

Bella the EB, and Jolly the Giant

 

[CowBella]

Sorry for the double post!!

<<<newb>>>

 

[Tinkerbell]

I have no advice on the spayed eyes/feet, but RC Bulldog 24 ranks 100% or an "A+" in the food grading thread. http://bulldogbreeds.com/discuss/viewtopic.php?t=642

Sure there are others that rank higher, but I was please with the RCB24 for the short time we fed it before our EB girl passed away. The unique shape of the kibble really did help her chew her food better which lead to less gas/vomiting. Brown rice is better then white rice or corn which alot of the commercial brands use as fillers. So while the RC doesn't have as many veggies as some of the higher quality ones - at least it's not corn.

Lately there have been quite a few posts about the DVP causing loose/light colored stools. This leads me to believe that it maybe too rich (?) for most tummies. I don't know - I've never fed it - although I have considered it for our new pup but not sure if I like the idea of loose stools.

Im sorry I really don't have any advice for you!

Oh, and welcome to the forum and post pics of your pup if you can! Im sure we'de all love to see her!

 

[CowBella]

Here are a few pics of Bella, and a few of Jolly the Giant for good measure =)

The DVP poo will firm up immediately if I feed her a bit of pumpkin (also very good for the runs) or when I feed her more raw foods in her diet. The amount of raw I feed her depends on when she's getting a bath, again germie beard!! I really like DVP (for the Giant), whatever doesn't get scooped up, I use the hose to rinse away.


I found that link to rating dog food on these forums a while back, when we first got the Giant. That grading formula gets around the doggie 'net =)

 

[Miakoda]

Hve you tried different variations of the DVP? The Ultimate is a great one as 4 out fo the 5 main ingredients are protein sources. If your pup is not on the Duck & Potato for a reason, why not try that one? Or the Venison?

Like I've said before, I don't push any one food on every person/dog as each dog is an individual & will respond differently than the dog next to it. My dogs looked like shit on Canidae but I've seen some gorgeous dogs fed that exact same food.

 

[CowBella]

I tried the fish and sweet potato, but... it smelled.. well fishy. Jolly the Giant is one of those dogs that LOVES to come and pant right in your face, uggg.. dripping wet beard and all.) The venison, I hear can be too rich for some dogs, and I may try it one day, but she has a tendancy toward soft stools (unless I feed raw). I took a break from DVP and tried to feed the Authority Baked something or other... because it got a very good rating... but she just couldnt handle it... it tore her stomach up... I got the big bag, transistioned her slowly, over 2 + weeks because her stool was soft, I figured it must be a pretty drastic change, and went sloooowww. But... 40 lbs later, still loose stools, and we went back to DVP.

 

[Tinkerbell]

I guess it just boils down to finding what works the best for your dogs. What works for one isn't necessarily going to work for another. If your bully is fine on the DVP then just stay with that. There is conflicting advice on weather of not you should feed a puppy, puppy food. So far, I'm leaning towards feeding my girl adult formula instead of the puppy stuff when she comes home. I know her breeder is weaning her to puppy stuff - but I wont know for certain until I talk to him again as well as our vet.

I think her eyes look alright for an EB pup. They tend to look a little walleyed when they are that young. Look at my girl in my signature (although she's not an EB she's still a bully). Can you say eyes on the side of her head?!? :lol:

I think Bella'll be alright (she's CUTE too) - but if you are really concerned - ask your vet.

GORGEOUS Giant BTW!

 

[CowBella]

Hehe... ya... I giggle at your pup in your sig... When I saw Bella's early pup pics... I was like... I’m bringing THAT home? Chicken necked, Chihuahua looking thing!

When I took Bella to the vet after getting her, I asked him about DVP, he was non committal, I guess not many people come in saying... this is what I feed and why..what do you think. I told him about supplementing with raw, and he didn't say anything, but just grimaced and shook his head. I may find a more EB friendly vet... he didn't say many nice things about them at all. I asked how her heart/lungs sounded, asked how her thyroid and glands felt, how her liver felt when he palpitated her abdomen, ect ect... he said... well TODAY she's healthy... I was kind of miffed, so I didn't ask about her eyes, and give him another reason to be discouraging. He also made it clear (in not so many words) that he felt that breeders were sending EB's down the last road to nowhere, and making their temperament very unstable, and that he had encountered several 'very aggressive' EB's.

Anyway, I digress... I just wanted to see if I was going to be a bad EB owner if I didn't feed her the 'Royals Royce' of dog food... after all it IS designed for her in mind. /shrug

Thanks for the compliment on the Giant. We got her as a show dog, but she is just toooooo much of a puppy to head to the ring just yet. She is 16m, and has about 2 more years to go before she finally settles down. /cry

 

[Francis]

I think she's adorable, and her eyes will be just fine. Vito's head was the last thing to grow (still growing), and it is a completely different shape then when he was a pup. Either way, she's cute!

 

[CowBella]

Thanks for the cute puppy compliments. I think she is going to have a huge head. Both her Momma and Pappa were big headed. We wanted to make sure that both the male and female were very similar to each other, so we would know what we were getting. Also.. I can't wait for her nose color to fill in... that 'Hitler 'stache' has got-to-go!